FAQ

Enterprise

Process Integration & Workflow

How much time does this actually require from our team?

Minimal. Simply share your job description (JD), spend an hour co-building your custom Skill Tree with us, assign one point of contact, and provide interview feedback. Cognavi handles everything between JD submission and shortlist delivery, shifting your team's focus from tedious sourcing to active selection.

What format do shortlists come in? Can we integrate with our ATS?

We deliver structured CSV exports mapped directly to your ATS. These include candidate names, universities, graduation batches, AI scores, Skill Tree scores, cultural fit ratings, match percentages, and links to their video interviews. Direct API integration is also available as we scale the engagement.

How many companies does Cognavi work with?

Our network currently includes over 1,400 Japanese companies and 14,000 partner companies.

What if we need to change our JD requirements mid-cycle?

No problem. If you update your JD, we will re-run the matching algorithm against the same talent pool and deliver updated shortlists within 48 hours. The talent pool doesn't reset; only the matching criteria change.

What happens after we shortlist candidates? Does Cognavi manage the rest?

Yes. From shortlisting through interview scheduling to offer closure, your dedicated Cognavi Single Point of Contact (SPOC) manages the full workflow. Your team steps in only at the interview and final decision stages.

Pipeline, Scale & Strategy

How do you handle high-volume hiring needs?

Our platform is purpose-built for scale. For high-volume JDs, we deliver shortlists in batches so your team can start interviewing immediately while subsequent batches are processed. Increased volume won't slow down delivery; it simply means you receive more shortlist batches.

What if shortlisted candidates don't show up for interviews or decline offers?

We build replacement guarantees into every engagement. If a shortlisted candidate fails to show up or declines an offer, we replace them at no additional cost. Students on our platform actively opt in for employer matching, and we verify their availability before including them in any shortlist.

How does the Skill Tree matching work?

We work with your hiring managers to map your exact role requirements, by department, location, and technical depth into a customized Skill Tree. Our matching engine then scores every candidate against that tree, ensuring you only see candidates who genuinely fit your needs.

What if our interviewers disagree with the AI ranking?

That is valuable feedback. When your team ranks a candidate differently than the AI, we use that data to calibrate the model. By the end of the engagement, the AI's rankings will closely mirror your team's specific preferences.

Can we see the reasoning behind each candidate's score?

Yes, we offer full transparency. Every recommended candidate comes with documented reasoning, including skill alignment scores, academic signals, video assessment ratings, and match logic.

How is Cognavi different from Naukri or LinkedIn for engineering hiring?

Naukri and LinkedIn are broad platforms built for volume, where you post a job and manually filter through thousands of unverified applications. Cognavi is built exclusively for hiring engineering freshers. Every candidate is university-verified, skill-assessed, and shortlisted against your specific requirements before you ever see them. You receive a curated list, not a flood of resumes.

Are you working with our competitors?

We maintain strict client confidentiality. However, we can offer you a first-mover advantage on our pre-assessed talent pool for specific universities or regions, alongside co-branded workshop sessions where your brand receives priority positioning before other employers enter the hiring cycle.

If this works, could Cognavi eventually replace our entire campus hiring process?

That is not our goal. Your direct campus relationships are invaluable for long-term university partnerships and local employer branding. Cognavi handles the scalable, technology-driven aspects, such as broad outreach, consistent assessments, and intelligent matching, so your team can focus on in-depth evaluation.

Global Hiring & Employer Branding

We are a Japanese company hiring in India. Can Cognavi support that?

Yes, we have a dedicated talent pipeline built specifically for Japanese and global engineering organizations. This includes candidates with documented Japanese language exposure, manufacturing career alignment, and GCC-relevant profiles. It is purpose-built for companies that require more than a standard campus drive.

Can you support international hiring beyond Japan?

Yes. Our global engineering hiring track covers candidates with profiles tailored to GCC markets and international engineering organizations. We work closely with you to define your specific profile requirements and build a dedicated pipeline around them.

What does employer branding on campus actually look like?

We run workshops, seminars, and technical awareness sessions at partner colleges on your behalf, covering high-demand topics like IoT, AI/ML, Robotics, Digital Twin, and Advanced Manufacturing. Your brand remains front and center, ensuring students associate your company with industry leadership well before placement season begins.

Do we need to send our own team to these campus workshops?

No. Cognavi manages all workshop logistics, content creation, and delivery. You simply share your employer value proposition (EVP) and branding assets, and we handle the rest. You get a strong campus presence without the operational overhead.

How does employer branding translate into better hires?

Students who engage with your brand before applying are more informed, intentional, and likely to stay long-term. Because they make a considered career decision up front, companies see reduced early attrition and improved cultural alignment from day one.

Pricing & Subscription Tiers

What is the Self-Subscription Model?

The Self-Subscription Model is Cognavi's self-serve subscription product that gives your hiring team direct access to our talent pool via a dedicated recruiter platform. You can subscribe, post your requirements, and receive curated shortlists without needing a fully managed engagement.

What are the plan options?

We offer three tiers: Starter (up to 5 hires at ₹45,000/year), Professional (up to 10 hires at ₹1,10,000/year), and Enterprise (custom hires with custom pricing). Annual billing is the default option and includes two months free, though monthly billing is available with a 3-month minimum commitment.

What is a credit and how does it work?

A credit allows you to unlock a student's contact details. The Starter plan includes 50 credits, Professional includes 200, and the Enterprise plan offers unlimited credits. Credits are only deducted when you choose to actively engage with a specific candidate.

What is the difference between the Self-Subscription Model and Premium Enterprise?

The Self-Subscription Model is a self-serve subscription platform where your team manages the search and shortlisting directly. Premium Enterprise is a fully managed engagement where Cognavi takes complete ownership of sourcing, assessment, shortlisting, and logistics. The Self-Subscription Model suits teams wanting direct platform control, while Premium Enterprise is ideal for teams that want the operational heavy lifting done for them.

Is there a minimum commitment on monthly billing?

Yes, monthly billing requires a minimum commitment of 3 months across all plans. Annual plans are prepaid and offer the best overall value.

University

Operations, Integration & Logistics

How long does it take to get set up on Cognavi?

Onboarding is fast and seamless. We set up your university profile, connect your student database, and configure your placement portal within a few days. Your placement team will have full access to the dashboard from day one.

Will this disrupt our existing placement process?

Not at all. Cognavi is designed to complement your existing workflows, not replace them. Your current Training & Placement Officer (TPO) relationships and internal campus drives remain completely untouched. We simply provide the digital infrastructure, advanced analytics, and expanded corporate access to make them more successful.

How technical does our placement team need to be to use the platform?

Not technical at all. The platform is designed specifically for placement officers with an intuitive, user-friendly dashboard. Additionally, a dedicated Cognavi SPOC is always available to support your team.

How much does it cost?

Our pricing is structured based on your selected tier of engagement: General Offerings or a fully White-Labeled solution. We scope pricing based on your institution's size, student enrollment, and specific requirements. Reach out to us for a customized proposal.

Can we still run our own campus drives alongside Cognavi?

Absolutely. Cognavi supports and enhances your internal drives, allowing you to host, schedule, and automate them directly through the platform. We also connect your institution to companies that may not have visited your campus in the past.

Do universities need to organize anything for the campus workshops?

Minimal effort is required on your part. We handle the content creation, delivery, and speaker logistics. Your placement team only needs to coordinate the venue and student attendance.

Institutional Growth, Rankings & Reporting

How does Cognavi help improve our NIRF ranking?

Superior placement outcomes directly and positively impact your NIRF ranking. Our high-CTC role pipeline, corporate access, and automated placement tracking provide your institution with the verifiable data and outcomes needed to strengthen your ranking year on year.

What if our placement outcomes don't improve after joining Cognavi?

Our platform gives your placement team real-time visibility into exactly where gaps exist, whether they are skill gaps, engagement gaps, or pipeline gaps. This allows you to act early rather than react late. We partner with you throughout the academic cycle to ensure your metrics move in the right direction.

How is Cognavi different from other placement platforms we may already use?

Most placement platforms function simply as static job boards, they list a role and wait for applications. Cognavi builds an active, two-way ecosystem: students are verified and accurately matched, companies receive curated shortlists, and universities track hiring outcomes in real time. It is a complete institutional infrastructure, not just a listing service.

Can Cognavi help with NAAC and NBA accreditation?

Yes. We provide comprehensive performance reporting on student participation, skill assessments, and verified placement outcomes. This gives NAAC and NBA assessors the exact data they require while giving your leadership clear institutional insights.

How do we track student progress and placement outcomes?

You can monitor everything through a centralized, real-time dashboard that tracks engagement rates, skill gaps, improvement trajectories, and your active placement pipeline. Every decision your placement team makes will be backed by live evidence.

Can we generate custom reports for our leadership and board?

Yes. The platform supports fully customized reporting. You can filter data by academic branch, graduation batch, assessment scores, placement stages, and more. These reports can be easily exported and shared with your leadership team, board, or accreditation bodies.

White Label Solutions

What exactly is the White Label solution?

It is a fully branded career platform hosted on your own domain, designed to look and feel entirely like your institution's proprietary product. Students and recruiters interact with your logo, brand guidelines, and institutional email identity throughout the entire journey.

Who owns the data on the White Label platform?

Your institution maintains absolute data sovereignty. Because the platform runs under your domain and email, Cognavi's identity is entirely invisible to your students and visiting recruiters.

Can we integrate the platform with our existing LMS?

Yes. We offer enterprise-grade Single Sign-On (SSO) that connects directly to your existing Learning Management System, removing login barriers and unifying the student experience.

Can we track our alumni on the White Label platform?

Yes. Our integrated alumni tracking module allows you to monitor your graduates' career progression over time, building a robust network that strengthens your institution's long-term reputation and supports future placement cycles.

Student

Platform Adoption & Access

How do students access the platform?

Students can access Cognavi through a dedicated student portal available on both web and mobile platforms. For White Label partner institutions, this portal is hosted on your college's own domain under your university's branding.

How do we encourage students to actively use the platform?

We support your placement team with tailored onboarding communications, engaging orientation sessions, and automated system reminders. Students are highly motivated by direct access to verified corporate opportunities; once they see the quality of roles available, adoption happens organically and quickly.

Will students from all engineering branches benefit, or only specific disciplines?

Students from all engineering disciplines benefit. Our corporate partners hire across Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, Electronics, Computer Science, and more. Relevant opportunities are open to students from every branch.

Dynamic Skill Assessments

What if students are uncomfortable with AI-driven assessments?

Our assessments are designed to be intuitive, engaging, and low-pressure. Students receive clear, step-by-step instructions, interactive practice sessions before taking the actual assessment, and instant feedback reports afterward, turning the experience into an educational opportunity rather than just an exam.

We've used AI assessment tools before and the student experience wasn't great. How is Cognavi different?

Most AI assessment tools are disconnected standalone products where students are tested on generic benchmarks. Cognavi's assessments are natively embedded into the hiring process and mapped directly to an employer's specific Skill Tree. Because the context is transparent, student completion rates exceed 90%.

How does the AI assess soft skills?

Our AI Video Interview analyzes response structure, articulation clarity, confidence indicators, and content depth. Each area is scored individually and compiled into a comprehensive Communication score, giving employers a holistic view of the candidate's capabilities.

What about candidates who are strong on paper but struggle in interviews, or vice versa?

That is exactly what our multi-layer assessment is built to solve. For instance, a candidate with excellent academic marks but developing communication skills will show high technical scores alongside lower communication metrics. This gives recruiters a balanced, objective picture before the live interview begins.

How do you identify candidates with Japanese language exposure?

We filter and highlight students who have completed recognized Japanese language certifications, including the JLPT, as part of our core candidate profiling. These profiles are tagged and organized into a dedicated pool for global employers.

Skill Enhancement & Technical Workshops

What kind of workshops does Cognavi run on campuses?

We host industry-led technical workshops on cutting-edge topics such as IoT, AI/ML, Robotics, Digital Twin, Electric Vehicles, Green Energy, and Advanced Manufacturing. These sessions are specifically designed to bridge the gap between classroom theory and modern industry expectations.

Are workshop recordings or study materials available to students afterward?

Yes. All session recordings, presentations, and key takeaways are uploaded directly to the student portal after each workshop, allowing students to continue learning at their own pace.

How do these technical workshops translate into better placement outcomes?

Students who attend these industry-led workshops gain confidence and practical knowledge that makes them highly attractive to recruiters. Furthermore, companies that sponsor these workshops on your campus are statistically more likely to return for formal placement hiring.

Bias Protection & Data Privacy

How do you ensure the AI model doesn't discriminate based on gender, region, or university tier?

We regularly audit our AI models for algorithmic fairness across gender, region, and university tiers. A student from a tier-two institution will score equivalently to one from a tier-one institution if their core competencies match. We gladly provide demographic distribution analyses for shortlists upon request.

How do you handle student data and privacy consent?

All student data is collected with explicit, informed consent, and we are fully compliant with India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) 2023. Data is stored securely on encrypted servers within India, access is strictly role-based, and students maintain the right to delete their profiles at any time.